Twitter reacts: Despite being a man, Indian PM Modi manages to patronize a woman

During a speech at Dhaka University this weekend, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's commitment to wiping out terrorism. What began as a seemingly well-intentioned compliment soon turned sexist. 

"We know solutions for everything, but not terrorism," he said. "I am happy that Bangladesh Prime Minister, despite being a woman, has declared zero tolerance for terrorism."

Social media immediately erupted in protest of Modi's comments. #DespiteBeingAWoman has quickly become a place for men and women in India and around the globe to wryly offer up the varied accomplishments of countless women, using the tounge-in-cheek clause to show how patronizing Modi's remark was. It's also become a space for women to air their grievances about everyday discrimination they encounter. 

Lakshmi Chaudhry, executive editor of India’s Firstpost.com, says that Modi’s comments reflect the belief that women are too “sweet and soft and kind” to do something as “ruthless” as fighting terrorism. Some Twitter users questioned this sentiment.

But how much can a hashtag do? Chaudhry is cautiously optimistic. A single hashtag campaign will not immediately make her safer walking down the street alone, she says. But social media campaigns can be a powerful way to put pressure on elected officials. This kind of pressure can show that “the Indian woman isn’t just going to shut up and take it,” Chaudhry says.

Microagressions toward women by men are as old as time, but to see one so casually thrown out into the public sphere by a man of great power — and in a country with a history of treating its woman as less-than —  has these Tweeters speaking up.

Check out the #DespiteBeingAWoman conversation in our live-curated feed below.

#DespiteBeingAWomen